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S04.E11: Bleeding Kansas

maraleia

By maraleia
in Hell On Wheels [V]

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Shriekingeel

Shriekingeel

When they showed Johnny Shea's hand with the eye-gouger on the thumb (very common among 19th century gangs) I was really hoping it was just for period verisimilitude, NOT a Chekhov's eye-gouger. Alas I was wrong.

Nice to see Tom Noonan again.

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nodorothyparker

nodorothyparker

(edited)

That was like The Walking Dead - Frontier Edition.  It was a lot of gore that didn't really seem to advance any story in any way.

 

The callback to Rev. Cole and his role in Bleeding Kansas was nice in that it finally helped me put into context why Ruth tends to be so tiresomely self-righteous and veers toward crazy eyes sometimes.

 

Eva can stop blaming Cullen every chance she gets for how things ended with Elam any time now.

Edited by nodorothyparker
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beesknees

beesknees

Eye gouging and limb amputation -- I couldn't watch.

 

Good God, same here.  I am not squimish but I swear I had to turn the channel when Greg Allman was bleeding out.  Then when that guy gored the other man's eye out and ate it?  WTF?  Yeah.  Peace out with that shite.  I'm gonna refer to this as the "Gore" episode.  maybe I'm glad there are only 2 episodes left.  This episode didn't hold my interest too much.  I was bored and flipping channels through out.

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Ohwell

Ohwell

Eva can stop blaming Cullen every chance she gets for how things ended with Elam any time now.

Eva is getting so tiresome with her "blame Cullen" crapola that I wish someone would put a bullet in her and put her out of her misery.  I'm sick of her.

 

Actually, I think it's a good thing this show is winding up.  One more season is enough.   The only characters I even care about now are Psalms and Cullen and, to a lesser extent, Mickey and Durant.  I like Ruth but she makes me sad now, poor thing.  

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dohe

dohe

That was like The Walking Dead - Frontier Edition.  It was a lot of gore that didn't really seem to advance any story in any way.

 

The callback to Rev. Cole and his role in Bleeding Kansas was nice in that it finally helped me put into context why Ruth tends to be so tiresomely self-righteous and veers toward crazy eyes sometimes.

 

Eva can stop blaming Cullen every chance she gets for how things ended with Elam any time now.

Eva blaming Cullen is something which actually makes sense.  The love of Eva's life just died a few episodes ago and it was at Cullen's hand.  While we the audience understand why Cullen did what he did and it was out of love not malice, Eva's perspective would be the perspective of almost anyone in her situation.  There is not a bad guy in the situation.  For all the idiocy the show has displayed recently, that is one thing they got right.

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hmmm

hmmm

I was angry when the Swede strangled what's her name.  I was rather fond of that lady.  I like Ruth too.  If they kill her off, that's it for me.  

 

Agree with others that the gore was damn gruesome.  That leg scene was brutal.  Probably the worst thing I've ever seen on TV.  TV certainly has changed a lot in my lifetime.   When I was a kid my Mom used to tell us that sex would be next on TV (after violence reared it's ugly head in the 60's).  'Aw Mom, you're crazy, Sex? no WAY..."   

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TwoSocks

TwoSocks

I have no plans to watch that episode anytime soon. I tuned in to see what was going to happen to Ruth but it got overshadowed by all that gore. Not surprised theyre cancelling the show but splitting the final season sucks bigtime. I think they've got a lot to squeeze into one season. The railroad still has a piece to go and storylines need to be wrapped up. Hopefully they do that in a meaningful way and don't just start killing characters off.

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nodorothyparker

nodorothyparker

(edited)

Once upon a time I would have been seriously unhappy to hear that the show would be ending.  Now I'm more aggravated by the news of splitting the final season than by anything else.  My husband was surprised last night that we watched the 9 p.m. airing because most of this season it had gotten pushed back more and more.  I realized then that we were watching the first airing not because it was priority viewing as much as there was simply nothing else on that time I particularly wanted to see.

 

I hung in even after Lily's death and liked a lot of what they were trying to do last season expanding the canvas to tell the larger story of the West beyond just our little railroad camp.  But watching the show has increasingly felt like a chore with little payoff.  With villains who refuse over and over to die, killing off other characters for no seeming reason, neverending stories about everything but the actual building of the railroad, whole traincars of new unnamed characters showing up to terrorize regulars, and now gore for the sake of gore, the show no longer seems to know what it wants to be.  It's still capable of great individual episodes like Two Trains and felt like they were still trying last night with the recurring question of "what happens to men like us?" that no one seemed to have a good answer for, but it's all just become a muddled mess.

Edited by nodorothyparker
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Skyfall

Skyfall

Good God, same here.  I am not squimish but I swear I had to turn the channel when Greg Allman was bleeding out.  Then when that guy gored the other man's eye out and ate it?  WTF?  Yeah.  Peace out with that shite.  I'm gonna refer to this as the "Gore" episode.  maybe I'm glad there are only 2 episodes left.  This episode didn't hold my interest too much.  I was bored and flipping channels through out.

Technically 16...

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riverheightsnancy

riverheightsnancy

I don't like to look at those bloody scenes, so I just look away for a second. But, I am like that no matter the show, so it is not the show, but me. The thing that strikes me is that during most other times periods, life and death was a much more common experience for people. It was in your face, so to speak. The wild west, was a mere 150+ years ago. It is astounding how far we have come in the last 150 years. No matter when the show ends (I have quite enjoyed it despite some thematic issues), I know that I will miss Cullen's eyes. I wish that he would go and be with his wife and child. I think that he could be happy there and have a somewhat normal and loving life with her. I do think that she wants to love him and be with him. Naomi seemed so much lighter and happier there. It is unfortunate that Cullen cannot forgive himself enough to allow that to happen. The baby is really cute. 

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Ohwell

Ohwell

Eva blaming Cullen is something which actually makes sense.  The love of Eva's life just died a few episodes ago and it was at Cullen's hand.  While we the audience understand why Cullen did what he did and it was out of love not malice, Eva's perspective would be the perspective of almost anyone in her situation.

First of all, I think it's finally beginning to sink in for Eva that Elam came to love Cullen (albeit in a different way) more than he did her.   It was she who made the decision to give his daughter away, and even though I think she made the right decision, he never forgave her for that.  So I think that when he made the decision to go looking for Cullen, he chose Cullen over her.  Eva was the cause of that, IMO.  So she needs to accept that she's at least partly to blame for Elam going off in the first place.

 

Second, regarding the fight, she should have seen that Cullen did everything he could to avoid having Elam killed, or having to kill him himself.  It just didn't work out that way.  Now I can understand her grieving for Elam, and I can understand even some bitterness about the way things turned out, but this hatred of Cullen to the extent that she wants to kill him is unwarranted.

 

She's shown that she could be a good nurse.  I wish the writers could have written her so that she's the town nurse and she's picked up and gone on with her life in some way.  I'm just tired of hateful grieving sour-faced hard-drinking card shark Eva.  If she doesn't get any better then, yes, I want her to go out quickly with a bullet.

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maplebrew

maplebrew

Eva's becoming embittered by her experiences. Poor thing, I still root for her. 

 

Two points about this Ruth oriented episode:

 

1. During the childhood Ruth scenes, the red braids and period costume had me thinking about Anne of Green Gables. I caught myself thinking, "Anne's having a hard day."

 

2. When Cullen was escorting Ruth into the jail cell, I was amazed by Ruth's comments. She's the first person I can think of in a long time who wasn't a) blaming Cullen for her troubles; b) telling Cullen, at least not in this episode, to solve said troubles for her. 

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justmehere

justmehere

(edited)

I hope that in the final season(s), they will actually focus on the railroad again. Establishing a new town and showing its growing pains is an interesting subject, but it hasn't been executed terribly well, in my opinion, and they've all but forgotten the railroad for most of this season.

 

Thanks to reading a few posts here before I watched, I was able to fast-forward through some of the gore or at least look away (not that screams are necessarily better). Totally uncalled for. This show has done quite well at showing harshness without being so graphic. Disappointed they went there.

 

There was much that I liked about the episode though. "What becomes of men like us" is certainly foreshadowing; I won't be terribly surprised if Cullen doesn't make it, but I hope he finds some peace one way or another.

 

The hardness that has come over Eva and now Ruth is sad to see. Even as a prostitute, Eva was fairly lighthearted. "On Tuesdays I rest my patootie" or whatever the line was. I hope they can both overcome their grief. (Whatever the opinion of the story, I think both actresses have played the changes really well.)

 

I liked Durant's line that he would be remembered for building the railroad but Cullen would be forgotten entirely. Nice way to bring back a little actual history. No doubt there were many "Cullens" who didn't get any credit.

 

I enjoyed seeing Tom Noonan again as Reverend Cole. The crazy wasn't totally out of control yet (despite the killings, he didn't seem on the level of "I'm going to kill them all" like right before his demise), and it didn't seem like he was heavily drinking yet either. Maybe little Ruth's bible quotes started him down that road. He didn't sound all that convinced of his own righteousness -- more like he was trying to convince her. That's also a reason for him lashing out and hitting her; she stirred his guilt.

 

2. When Cullen was escorting Ruth into the jail cell, I was amazed by Ruth's comments. She's the first person I can think of in a long time who wasn't a) blaming Cullen for her troubles; b) telling Cullen, at least not in this episode, to solve said troubles for her.

 

 

Very good point. And she didn't back down either. Her line about the only thing better than killing Snow was hearing he was dead was great -- except for the part where events have hardened her so much.

 

As much of a dick as Campbell is -- seriously, with all the crime and murder, including Mickey's cousin's assault now, he focuses on Ruth? -- I just like the actor and have ever since American Gothic. I appreciate Louise still standing up to Campbell and hope she writes about everything.

 

There are still great elements to this show, but it doesn't seem to be a whole in any sense anymore. I hope that they'll pull it together and have a really great finish (and not be like Lost and go further off the rails -- no pun intended -- with an end date). I'm just surprised it's ending considering that it's doing pretty well and has even gained viewers airing on Saturdays.

Edited by justmehere
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bentley

bentley

 

Eva is getting so tiresome with her "blame Cullen" crapola that I wish someone would put a bullet in her and put her out of her misery.  I'm sick of her.

Amen. And the main thing that bothers me about it is that if the writers aren't letting it go, it's likely to be a future plot point. If Eva turns on Cullen or hurts him in some way, she will be dead to me.

 

I don't know when eye gouging became the new black, but I swear this is the 3rd eye-gouging scene I've had to suffer through this year. Gah! Not the eyes. Anything but the eyes, please.

 

Mickey has made a deal with the devil. I hope regaining power is worth it to him in the end.

 

The lady hotel owner is a badass. Wish she'd been on the show from the beginning.

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Ohwell

Ohwell

If Eva turns on Cullen or hurts him in some way, she will be dead to me.

And that's what I'm afraid of because, honestly, I was surprised that she still hadn't let it go.  She does seem determined to kill him.

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Dowel Jones

Dowel Jones

Up till I started on the comments here, I was thinking that Eva's hatred toward Cullen stemmed from his saving that guy's life.  Sorry, Elam; my apologies.

 

I think that Ruth "killed" her father with that gunshot.  She's been harboring that guilt by association with her father's misguided righteousness for so long that her satisfaction with her actions and the death that resulted are quite overwhelming any sense of doom.  Would a jury of Cheyenne-ites actually convict her?

 

Mickey, his cousin, and his band of Dead Wabbits might want to make note that they aren't in Five Points anymore, and that the denizens of the aptly named Wild West won't take so kindly to gratuitous violence against their own.

 

I missed something in the episode.  Why was the leg amputated?  Sepsis?  Or was there another wound besides the abdominal shot?

 

Surreal juxtaposition of the violence in the bar with "Doc" Durant claiming he wanted to be an ophthalmologist when he was young. 

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Shriekingeel

Shriekingeel

(edited)

The leg was amputated because Durant said that the artery in the lower leg was not repairable so at that point the only way to save his life was to amputate. Ruth shot him twice, including one in the leg.

Edited by Shriekingeel
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maplebrew

maplebrew

Or was there another wound besides the abdominal shot?

 

 

There was a shot to the leg too. 

 

It wasn't until this episode, that I realized that Durant was called "doc." Didn't know he had any medical training whatsoever. 

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dohe

dohe

(edited)

First of all, I think it's finally beginning to sink in for Eva that Elam came to love Cullen (albeit in a different way) more than he did her.   It was she who made the decision to give his daughter away, and even though I think she made the right decision, he never forgave her for that.  So I think that when he made the decision to go looking for Cullen, he chose Cullen over her.  Eva was the cause of that, IMO.  So she needs to accept that she's at least partly to blame for Elam going off in the first place.

 

Second, regarding the fight, she should have seen that Cullen did everything he could to avoid having Elam killed, or having to kill him himself.  It just didn't work out that way.  Now I can understand her grieving for Elam, and I can understand even some bitterness about the way things turned out, but this hatred of Cullen to the extent that she wants to kill him is unwarranted.

 

She's shown that she could be a good nurse.  I wish the writers could have written her so that she's the town nurse and she's picked up and gone on with her life in some way.  I'm just tired of hateful grieving sour-faced hard-drinking card shark Eva.  If she doesn't get any better then, yes, I want her to go out quickly with a bullet.

The love of her life has recently died.  No viewer is saying Cullen is to blame.  No one is saying her anger is not misplaced. 

 

However Eva's reaction is natural and easy to comprehend.  If Eva was not mad at Cullen it would be awful writing.  Just because I like Cullen more as a character does not mean I am going to get ticked off at Eva having the natural reaction.  Almost anyone in her position would feel the same.  Her reaction is authentic.  When people lose the love of their life, they can lash out.  It only makes sense that Eva would lash out Cullen considering he was the one who ended up having to shoot Cullen.  Cullen recognizes this.  He understands. 

Edited by dohe
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BusyOctober

BusyOctober

Waaay too much gore for me in this one.  I thought Elam's bear mauling wounds were bad enough, but this episode amped up the gross factor to OMGOMGOMG Stop it! Stop it!!!"  From what I remember reading years ago, Five Points was a Hell hole of violence. I think Mickey may regret calling in his cousin & his merry men.

 

I understand Ruth was supposed to look exhausted and gaunt because of Ezra's death, but was it common for women in mourning to powder their face with lead or talc?  She looked cartoonish with her super white these past 2 shows.  Maybe someone from the make up dept just recently watched "Powder"?

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Ottis

Ottis

(edited)
That was like The Walking Dead - Frontier Edition.  It was a lot of gore that didn't really seem to advance any story in any way.

 

 

Agreed, I FF'd through it.

 

OK, so Mickey brings in his own gang to push back against Campbell. But Campbell, as heinous as he may be at times, is a legal governor with the power to call on the military and other resources. What does Mickey hope to gain by bringing in the Dead Rabbits? It won't end well for Mickey.

 

I was confused at the beginning of Little Ruth's flashback. I thought she was the sister to some of the boys who were killed (with their dad) and was hiding, and that the preacher found her and was going to adopt her. So she was actually his daughter? And he carried her around everywhere with his gang, and she just happened to see something this time that she had missed every other time? Seems ... unlikely.

 

I liked vegeful Ruth, happy to hear Snow is dead.

 

Durant was so cruel, telling Cullen he will be forgotten by history.

 

Loved the "where do men like us end up" theme. Loved it. Because you could already see that happening as the shanty town became a real town, and the devices of government began to move in.

Edited by Ottis
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RealityGal

RealityGal

 

Eva can stop blaming Cullen every chance she gets for how things ended with Elam any time now.

She gets on my last damn nerve with that shit.  She either needs to shoot him or shut the fuck up about it already.  I'm am remarkably tired of her self righteous posturings, Cullen didn't want to kill him.  She knows damn well there was no way she and Elam were going to waltz off into the sunset together.

 

I have no idea why the writers seem invested on making Eva as annoying as humanly possible now, but I'm at the point where I wish she would get eaten by a bear too.

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